Creating a labyrinth is a transformational journey that involves body, emotions, mind and spirit. This time around I met the perfect imperfection of being on my path…

Long, story short … I failed to read the fine print. I drove all the way to Wilmington to walk a new labyrinth only to discover it was an indoor labyrinth that is only open on Fridays once per month.puff pastry

So I had a delightful meal at Le Catalan on the River Walk with a wonderful view of the sunset … Veggie quiche with Smoked Gouda in a puff pastry crust and shrimp and orzo au gratin. Both quite good. Interesting, but I have had 3 dishes in puff pastry in 2 days. Is it a thing everywhere? Or is it just here near Wilmington?

Le Catalan French Cafe & Wine Bar in Historic Downtown Wilmington, NC on the Riverwalk. Open for Lunch and Dinner. Serving authentic cuisine, balanced wines, friendly service and great view!

And after my walk, the molls and I dined at The PharmacyRestaurant – Southport NC, and it was excellent … fried green tomatoes, crab cakes in puff pastry and veal with potatoes, mushrooms and spinach.

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And did I mention that I enjoyed a fabulous day at Oak Island/Caswell Beach NC!

3.1.16

Licensing agreement, brilliant new blue pigment discovered by happy accident, News and Research Communications | Oregon State University: Love, love, love this. It reminds me of the blue in the stained glass at Chartres. Thanks for sharing, EWP. . And I have a book recommendation. Sacred Bleu! (by Christopher Moore)

I loved it because it was such a clever mix of history and fiction with the lives of the artist carrying on along side the real artists of the time. We listened to it on the way down to the beach a couple of springs ago. The only other one of Moore’s i’ve read is THE ISLAND OF THE SEQUINED LOVE NUN, which was also very strange, but intriguing. I guess you have to be a bit off yourself to enjoy them (which of course i am!!!).

“It was serendipity, actually; a happy, accidental discovery,” Subramanian said. The new pigment is formed by a unique crystal structure that allows the manganese ions to absorb red and green wavelengths of light, while only reflecting blue. The vibrant blue is so durable, and its compounds are so stable – even in oil and water – that the color does not fade. These characteristics make the new pigment versatile for a variety of commercial products. Used in paints, for example, they can help keep buildings cool by reflecting infrared light. Better yet, Subramanian said, none of the pigment’s ingredients are toxic. OSU has reached an exclusive licensing agreement for the pigment, which is known as “YInMn” blue, with The Shepherd Color Company. It will be used in a wide range of coatings and plastics. “This new blue pigment is a sign that there are new pigments to be discovered in the inorganic pigments family,” said Geoffrey T. Peake, research and development manager for The Shepherd Color Company. Commercial quantities of the pigment will be available later this year, he added. The lack of toxic materials is critical, Subramanian pointed out, and a hallmark of the new pigment. “The basic crystal structure we’re using for these pigments was known before, but no one had ever considered using it for any commercial purpose, including pigments,” Subramanian said. “Ever since the early Egyptians developed some of the first blue pigments, the pigment industry has been struggling to address problems with safety, toxicity and durability.” Another commercial use of the product – in addition to coatings and plastics, may be in roofing materials. The new pigment is a “cool blue” compound that has infrared reflectivity of about 40 percent – much high than other blue pigments – and could be used in the blue roofing movement.

Art history symbolism and legends: Lost Secrets of Chartres Blue? History of color and why astrology in a church?

Lost Secrets of Chartres Blue? History of color, and why astrology in a church? A story instead of history? It happens. Some people believe that making of blue color from the medieval stained glass windows of Chartres Cathedral was kept very secret, and the secret vanished. Since Middle Ages no one was able to re-create the famous Chartres-blue. Interesting story, very romantic, but simply not true. It is a part of cultural phenomenon involving romanticizing and sensationalizing art history. Specially the mystery of Chartre’s blue was beloved during the era of Romanticism. Such sensationalizing happens most often in archeology, but art history isn’t free from such exciting modern legends. In fact, there are enough of ancient “recipes” for making stained glass which survived until today. Problem with medieval recipes is that they often don’t makes sense, because terminology is confusing, like for example the idea that sapphire was added in making stained, glass, when this was also latinized name for saffer, which was name of cobalt oxide. Often the color is also affected by patina, impurities, or the main compound: the sand. Subtle differences matter, for ex. if the was taken from the river or if was sea sand. We can’t know exactly, we know which compounds were added, but in which form we don’t know. Also the combination of blue with other colors on the installed window itself makes it look specific way, using the optical principle of color contrast. But modern glass makers are fully capable of recreating the” mysterious” or “lost” Chartres-blue. It is sad to think so little about their skills and talents. Maria Rzepinska in her expertly researched book about history of color mentions those recipes, and even tells how color of the glass mass changed in relation of time involved in heating in the glass making kilns.Known phenomenon, nothing new, just a reminder. Also some impurities, air bubbles, etc. which were the result of working in more crude conditions affect the color. Today’s glass is extremely pure. But there is the kernel of truth in this disappearance story: after the Age of Faith the Chartres-blue, or to be more exact, the presence of strong colors diminished to almost disappear from stained glass windows, to reappear during XIX c. in their full glory. So, what is the secret? Stained glass window, with the Zodiac Sign of Pisces, Chartres Cathedral, via Wikimedia, photo taken by Dinkum It fact after the Middle Ages there was less interest in installing very colorful stained glass windows of the types as those seen in Chartres and the other Gothic cathedrals or churches. The reason was simple: colorful stained glass windows were prohibitively expensive. The cost of stained glass was closer to the price of precious stones than to the cost of the stained glass of today, as Maria Rzepinska says. (And she has also has a strong supportive bibliography which is a great resource for me). We also need to keep in mind that in addition to the already extremely high cost of its production, Gothic stained glass windows were very thick, which made the price even higher than those which are made of thin glass panels today. And thickness makes colors more intense too.Stained glass windows at Chartres Cathedral are for example c.1 inch thick. Due to progress of technologies, today’s stained glass which is similar to the glass of XIX c. Gothic Revival has only a fraction of the thickness (c. 1/8 of inch) of the Gothic glass window panels. Gothic Revival brought colored window back into buildings but adjusted with new technologies. Religious buildings of the Middle Ages needed masses of expensive glass. The tastes also changed, after jewel-like colors of the Middle Ages white and grissaille glass became popular. With time people also became less religiously devoted than during the Age of Faith. Unstoppable religious enthusiasm which fueled building of the great cathedrals simply diminished with time.

Freddie Freeman, Cat to Spring Training, People: I’m not a cat person, but this is funny.

Meh. That’s usually our reaction to anything remotely related to baseball. All that changed this week when we learned that a baseball player named Freddie Freeman brought his cat to spring training with the Atlanta Braves in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, by car, no less, which is exceedingly brave in itself. The cat named Nala travelled with Freeman and his wife Chelsea, and she fancied sitting between the two of them right behind the arm rest — with her paws crossed politely in front of her (look closely and you’ll see pink nail caps over those claws!).

Ms. Gutleben of the Humane Society said Francis’ apparent reversal of Benedict’s view could be enormous. “If the pope did mean that all animals go to heaven, then the implication is that animals have a soul,” she said. “And if that’s true, then we ought to seriously consider how we treat them. We have to admit that these are sentient beings, and they mean something to God.”